After talking with Phil about the book it sounds fascinating and it’s obvious he is passionate about the topic. I can’t wait to read it!

What’s really interesting is the way he’s publishing the book. Rather than go the traditional publishing route his is going it on his own (with his own publishing company he started when writing his last book The New Small).

In the video interview below we talk about the book and how he’s using crowdsourcing and Kickstarter.com to fund this project. You can also win a free signed copy of the book – just read on below:

Here are a few links to info we mention in this video: Phil talks about a Korean Movie Director who shot an entire movie on his iPhone. He also mentions the Nano Watch as one of the most successful Kickstarter projects ever.

If you haven’t heard about Kickstarter it is a funding platform focused on a broad spectrum of creative projects. Through it you can offer rewards such as copies of the work, limited editions, fun experiences in exchange for different amounts of money that people donate to fund or back a project.

If you are an aspiring author, or have any great idea for a project but need funding for it you’ll be very interested to hear Phil talk about Kickstarter in this video.

This is how Phil brought his last book The New Small to life and he’s doing it again with The Age of the Platform. I was happy to back him on this project as I think he has a great angle for exploring the success of these 4 successful companies and the lessons that small businesses can take from their strategy.

You can help fund The Age of the Platform through Kickstarter

Please visit http://kck.st/philsimon and help fund the book. Phil is offering some great rewards such as your name in the acknowledgements, signed copies, Kindle copies, all the way up to speaking at your company and proving 100 copies of the book! I hope you will join me as we all the get the joy of not only reading it but knowing we took part in making it happen!

Our Contest

To help spread the word we’re running a contest and giving away a signed copies of the book! Just CLICK HERE to tweet about this video (make sure it includes the hashtag #fundphil and you’ll be eligible to win a signed copy when the book is released! I’ll pick a winner at random from those that use the hashtag to spread the word on twitter. Just click this link and the tweet and hashtag will already be in place for you.

Have questions for Phil about The Age of the Platform, about self publishing a book, or about Kickstarter? Ask away in the comments below!

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In this edition of the show we talked about things like how to build trust with clients you may never meet face to face, working in virtual teams, what effect technology has on the shift from employee to freelancer and the future of the “anywhere lifestyle” – being able to do the work where and when you want.If you already work where you want or if you’re thinking about it, be sure to watch or listen to this episode. It will be worth your while. We all shared some great resources and strategies for collaborating and staying productive.

Freelance Jam is the brand-new show for independent professionals who build the web. Episodes are recorded live every other Tuesday evening, offering viewers a chance to discuss and ask questions during the live show.

Be sure to catch future episodes of FreelanceJam. It airs every other Tuesday night and the show includes interviews with guests from across the web industry and beyond. Topics include freelance business, web design, entrepreneurship, working from home, killer apps, marketing, web trends, and even music!

It’s a laid back interactive discussion I know you’ll enjoy – and they keep introducing me to new music!

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I did lots of research (as usual) and reading of reviews and it seemed Case-mate was one of the first to release a variety of cases specifically designed for the Verizon iPhone 4.  There are many different case styles but I don’t like to use a belt clip and prefer a case that has a combination of a solid spine (to protect from impact in case you drop it) but also has a rubber on the sides to help increase the grip to it doesn’t feel like it will slide out of your hand.  The Case-mate Pop case seemed to fit the bill – so I ordered one and in this video I show my unboxing as well as my review of this case.  Although I need to see if it stands the test of time so far I am VERY happy with this case and feel confident it will keep my precious iPhone 4 safe and sound.

Watch my video review and unboxing below:

What case did you pick for your iPhone and what do you like most about it?  Share your thoughts by posting a comment below!

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I met Karl late last year we instantly hit if off.  As we talked further he told me he wanted to embrace a virtual business model for Smart Company Growth. Shortly afterward I started working with Karl to help him refine his business model and choose the best strategies and tools that would allow him the flexibility to work from anywhere, keep his costs low, and work with clients from all over the world without the expenses and headaches of all that travel.

One of the things we discussed was how to use Skype for video conferencing and remote interviews as Karl wanted to include a series of these interviews with noted authorities on his blog. So after getting the technology in place he figured what better way to kick them off than by interviewing me about the strategies and technology that help entrepreneurs, small businesses, and solo professionals to work virtually.

Click below to watch the interview is broken down into 2 parts:

• Video Interview Part 1 where we talk about the shift toward mobile work, how and why companies are embracing this type of work, some of the challenges, and what  it means to work with people you don’t see every day.
• Video Interview Part 2 where we talk about some of the non-tech elements critical for success when leading virtual or distributed workforces as well as some of the key gadgets and technology that help you and your team stay connected.  We also talk briefly about my on-demand webinar The Art of Virtual Leadership and how it helps managers learn to lead virtual teams.

I hope you enjoy the interview and find it informative.  Karl did a great job and had some great insight from his own experiences about what it means to work virtually and work with clients and team members remotely.

What do you think is the biggest shift in working virtually?  Please share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

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I have several different email addresses with different domains names all forwarding mail to Gmail and thanks to it’s flexibility I was able to configure Gmail so that I can send or reply from any of them (with one being the default address for new messages).  For example even though I use Gmail as my email program I rarely use my Gmail address – instead my FROM address is phil@theanywhereoffice.com.

Although Gmail handles this perfectly I was disappointed when first configured my iPod Touch a few years back using Google Sync that it ignored these settings and always sent mail from my Gmail address.  This was unacceptable to me as I wanted emails I sent to come from my business address and didn’t want to confuse my clients, customers, and colleagues.  I hunted and searched and tested and finally found out how to get this to work. You can still use the steps I shared in yesterday’s post/video to sync your Google Calendars and contacts with your iPhone but you need to turn off the mail option there and follow some special (and somewhat convoluted) steps to get the mail to sync with Gmail AND send from your own domain.

No worries – I’m here to help.  I recorded 2 videos for you below walking you step-by-step through the entire process. The first step would be to have mail from your other domain forward to your Gmail account. I assume you’re probably already doing this but if not you’ll need to go into your current email settings for your domain and set it to forward your mail to your Gmail account. The steps for this will vary depending on how you currently get your email – most likely these settings can be controlled in the control panel of your web or email host.

The next step is to configure Gmail to send mail from your own domain rather than using your Gmail address.  Watch this video to learn how to do this:

The final step is the tricky part – how to get your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to sync with Gmail and use your own domain.  Make sure to follow all the steps in the next video – there are a few gotcha’s (like one part where you have to set it up with your Gmail address, back out, then go back in and change it).  It sounds silly – but you have to do this to make it work. If you follow all these steps in my video you will reach nirvanna and have your Gmail perfectly in sync on your iPhone and be able to send and reply to messages using your own domain. Thing of beauty!!

(NOTE: I know you can use Google Apps to have all mail for your domain integrated with Gmail but for many small business and solo professionals you may prefer to not go through the steps of setting that up and simply use your regular Gmail account.  I actually used Google Apps and switched back to using my regular Gmail account.  I found it made it easier to use all the other Gmail services and often times new features were released to regular Gmail accounts long before Google Apps got them.  Not to mention the iGoogle pages for regular Gmail are MUCH better than those for Google Apps.  There are a lot more widgets available and if you use iGoogle as your startup page or a digital dashboard that definitely makes a difference!)

UPDATED (7/28/11) – HOW TO USE MULTIPLE FROM ADDRESSES:

Big thanks to Rafael who posted a comment below on how to configure your iPhone to support multiple FROM addresses (so if you have multiple email addresses you use you can have a choice which to use when sending).  Here is what you need to do to set that up:

1. Goto imap account information
2. At the address box type all your outgoing emails with a comma separator for example Aaa@domain.com,bbb@domain.com,you@gmail.com

This will add a from option when you create new email on the iPhone.

Awesome tip Rafael – what I love about the internet and huzzah to tribal knowledge and the great group we have here at The Anywhere Office!

Please leave me a comment below and let me know if my video walk-thru helped you out or if you have any questions.

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I have tried several different ways and found  Google Sync (which acts like a Microsoft Exchange connector) works great.  I used it for years on my iPod Touch and now that I’m the proud owner of a new Verizon iPhone 4 (I am stoked) I used this same method to keep my iPhone and Google services perfectly in sync. One of the great features is that it lets you sync multiple Google Calendars (up to 25). That means when you create a new appointment in the calendar on your iPhone you can add it to any of the Google calendars you have access to (your own or any shared calendars).

Watch my video below and follow along with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch as I show you how to sync your mail, contacts, and multiple Google calendars with your Apple device so you can send/receive mail, schedule appointments, and call any of your contacts from anywhere – instantly.  Now that’s The Anywhere Office in action!

Note that Google Sync is only supported on iOS versions 3.0 and above. You can check your current version by going to Settings > General > About > Version. If your business, school, or organization uses Google Apps, your administrator will first need to enable Google Sync before you can take advantage of this feature.

If you prefer written instructions Google provides them here but I figured it would be easier to follow along as you watch the steps in this video.

These steps work great if you are using your Gmail address as your primary email address.  If you prefer to send mail from your Gmail account (and your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch) using your own domain (ie I send email from @theanywhereoffice.com) then you will want to check out my next article and video where I’ll walk you through how to change the mail setup.  It’s tricky but I found a way to get it to work so stay tuned!

(BTW all the video of me configuring the iPhone was actually shot with the video camera on another iPhone – how cool is that!)

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In this initial broadcast I chatted with some folks about mobile work technology – we discussed online musical collaboration, co-working and coffee shops, why it makes sense to create your website in WordPress, CRM software, Windows vs Mac, Skype and Tokbox, multi-person video chats, the Blue Yeti microphone, Twitter Apps, and I even jammed a little harmonica!I’m thinking of doing these either weekly (or bi-weekly) to make myself available to answer any burning questions you may have about mobile work technology, cloud computing, setting up an effective home office, using social media, automating common business processes, internet marketing, and anything else about working from anywhere or growing your business online.

Let me know what you think of the idea and what time/day might work best for you.

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Here are links to the resources in case you want to check them out yourself:

Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Snow Leopard Edition By David Pogue

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble

MacProVideo.com - Great video tutorials on Mac programs.  They are running a special sale until October 20th – use these special links to take advantage of these discounts:

• 33% off any HD downloadable tutorials
• 25% off subscriptions

I purchased 5 of the downloadable tutorials and I highly recommend them.

Have you found any great books, tutorials, or other resources that help cut your learning curve ?  Please share them in the comments below!

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In my next video I’ll share some resources I found that really helped me get up to speed quick and shortened the learning curve as a new Mac user.

Have you made the switch to Mac or been thinking about it? Post a comment below and let me know your thoughts, what has made you want to switch, or what is keeping you on Windows.

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It has certainly been a learning curve and in even the just the short time I’ve been a Mac user I’ve learned A LOT about some of the differences between the two operating systems, found some really cool new software and utilities, and basically been having a ball.

Sure I’ve been a bit less productive while making the transition but it is well worth it (and at least the lost productivity isn’t due to blue screens and dll errors)!

The video below is Part 1 of a 2 part series I shot about why I made the switch from Windows to Mac and why I felt I could make this jump without too much grief (my first project in iMovie):

Along with this post and video goes out a big heartfelt apology to all my family and friends who have been long time Mac users.  I gave you all a lot of shit over the years about living in your “Mac world” and not using a “realcomputer” but let me tell you . . . I’ve drunk the koolaid and it’s good!!

I got tired of troubleshooting technical issues and just wanted to be able to get work done and have fun while doing it.  I’m not so foolish to think that I won’t have any problems on the Mac side – but I can already tell it’s a world of difference and it has opened my eyes.

Here are links to the 2 software programs I mention in this video:

• eCamm Call Recorder for Skype – This program is great for recording Skype audio and/or video calls on the Mac.  This is something I tried desperately to do on Windows but none of the programs I tried did a very good job.
• Telestream ScreenFlow – One of the best programs I have ever seen for creating screencasts (where you record everything happening on your computer screen).  I loved Camtasia on Windows but this program blew me away! I’ll be posting a screencast video I made with this soon about how to setup a USB drive for automatic backups using Time Machine on the Mac.

I’ll be making a lot more videos, screencasts, and podcasts sharing some great Mac and cloud computing tips so be sure to check back.  Next week I will post part 2 of the video so stay tuned!

Have you made the switch to Mac or been thinking about it? Post a comment below and let me know your thoughts, what has made you want to switch, or what is keeping you on Windows.

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